Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

As we head into the half-term break it’s great to reflect on a productive, if short, half term. As usual it has been full to the brim with fantastic activities, projects, and learning. I hope you all have a great half term and I look forward to welcoming everyone back on June 2nd, all refreshed and ready for the activity-packed rollercoaster that is the final summer half term.

Urdd Cricket
Our valiant Urdd cricket team went as for as Abergele on Tuesday to take part in the Urdd Cricket competition. The children all had a fantastic time and really enjoyed a day of cricket in the sun. All the children behaved brilliantly, and it was lovely to see their confidence and skills developing throughout the tournament.

Gardening Club
Our fantastic, green-fingered gardening club have been busy working on the vegetable beds on another hot, sunny afternoon this week. Carrots, pak choi, lettuce, radish, and potatoes all planted!

First Minister Visit
It was wonderful to welcome the First Minister for Wales, Eluned Morgan, to Rhos St School on Thursday last week. The First Minister was visiting schools that had been built using 21st Century Schools’ funding, to see for herself the impact that this had on improving the learning environment for children in Wales. The First Minister enjoyed a tour of the school and had lots of opportunities to meet and talk with the fantastic children of Rhos St, who, unsurprisingly, were so positive and polite in their responses. For those of us who remember the old Rhos St building and facilities, it is certainly a good reminder of the huge benefits offered by this site for our learners of all ages.

New E-Mail Contacts
Denbighshire ICT Department have been busy in school this week migrating our school email systems to the Welsh-Government Hwb platform. We now have some new e-mail addresses to for you to use:
• For email contact with myself please use: andrew.davis@ysgolrhosstreet.cymru
• Any office / admin enquiries please use: office@ysgolrhosstreet.cymru
• For notification of pupil absences please use: absences@ysgolrhosstreet.cymru

Yr. 4 Outdoor Art
The Yr. 4 children have been making the most of the sunshine this week, before the universe flicks the weather-switch to half-term mode, taking their learning outside with a great outdoor art session.

Road Safety Project
We had some special visitors on Wednesday this week who came in to meet the children from Rhos St who are part of our joint road-safety project, Be Alert, Don’t Get Hurt!, with Ysgol Borthyn, and Ysgol Pen Barras. A police officer and two firefighters came along to advise the group on how best to address some of the issues that have been identified for children in the town accessing school in as safe as possible manner. After the meeting they kindly offered to talk to the Yr. 6 class about their roles, and some of the children got the chance to try on some of special protective equipment used by firefighters in Wales. Some of the children did ask if they could have a go with the police-officer’s taser, but luckily for me the answer was a no.

Bicycle Safety on Site
Unfortunately, we have seen several instances this week of children and adults cycling on the upper levels. Please can I request that all bicycles are pushed on the pathways and grassed areas around the school to avoid possibly serious incidents in the future. We love bicycles at Rhos St, they are one of my personal obsessions as well as being a brilliant, healthy, and environmentally sustainable way to travel to school. I’m sure that with everyone’s kind consideration in their use we can maximise all the benefits of cycling and mitigate some of the risks. I am extremely grateful for your cooperation and support in relation to this serious safety issue.

Yr. 1 Family Service
It was the turn of the Yr. 1 Class to dazzle us with their performance on Thursday in their family service all about inspiring people. They were pretty inspiring themselves, speaking, acting, and singing beautifully. A big thank you to the Yr. 1 children for their lovely performance, to Miss. Bevan and her team for their hard work in preparing the children so well, and to parents, carers, family, and friends for coming along to support us.

Supervision of Children after Pick Up
Could I please request that parents and carers keep a close eye on their children whilst on the school site after pick up. I have been made aware by staff that some children are riding bicycles / balance bikes on the upper levels with limited supervision. I have also been made aware that children are being allowed to play in the planted area at the front of the school, which is causing damage to the plants and creating unwanted and unsightly pathways through this area. Children are also being allowed to play in and on the long planter, adjacent to the disabled-access ramp, which is damaging the flowers and plants within. I am concerned that children may be injured whilst playing in these areas and may be at risk from traffic exciting the schools’ car park and would very much appreciate parent’s and carer’s support in ensuring that their children are appropriately supervised whilst on site. Many thanks.

Weekly Wellbeing
This week’s quote is from Desmond Mpilo Tutu, a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996, in both cases being the first Black African to hold the position.

Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.

Desmond Tutu

Achievers
This week’s brilliant achievers are: Jay, Samuel, Cecily, Ollie, Dylan, Rayne, Noa, Antos, Rowan, and all of Yr. 1. Stanley and Megan shared their Gwbor Cymraeg, and Sebastian, Cecily, and Louie shared their badminton certificates and trophies. Well done to all our brilliant achievers.